The Other Side of the Mirror
by spartan585
Summary: A HaloxW40k crossover,a story of an ODST trooper who landed at the wrong place and wrong time. or did he? please read and review so i can make this one helluva good story: thanks
1. Chapter 1

**The Other Side of the Mirror**

Earth, 2552AD

"Oh God, oh God…."

The battle for Earth was going well enough until the explosion of the UNSC Marathon-class Cruiser _Bridge to Thermopylae _brought everyone's attention to the view ports. Well merely for those who were not already incapacitated already from wounds and worse. Still, no one could ignore the shudder that vibrated through the _Ardent Blade_ as she bore witness to the _Thermopylae_'s destruction. The Battle for Earth was in midway and everyone had to at least pretend to look desperate in a situation like this. Considering a victory ratio between any UNSC naval force to their Covenant counterpart to be at least 3:1 in favourable conditions (which may vary), it was an emotion very hard to fake at the moment.

"Bridge! I wanted status five minutes ago!" barked Commander Dante as he paced the bridge of his UNSC frigate, the _Blade _restlessly as the ship remained at standby to engage the Covenant fleet. It was a small ship and despite Commander Dante's faith in the competency of his crew and marines, there was no way they can take on an entire Covenant assault carrier alone and survive.

"Skip! I think you gotta see this…," announced the first mate as he looked through the main view port.

"What is it? More bad news?" asked Dante as he made his way beside the first mate. Sweat was already beading on his forehead as he anticipated the reason for the call.

"Not really Skip. Look!" pointed the first mate excitedly at the alien vessel.

Commander Dante could scarcely make out a small speck flying out of what seemed to be the ship's reactor. A few seconds later, plumes of purplish explosions dotted the Covenant carrier as its reactor set off a chain reaction, destroying the vessel from within.

The bridge came alive as the crew gave cheers of joy and relief at the small victory. Even the loss of one Covenant ship was a welcome change from the news they usually receive. Furthermore, the morale boost kind of help too.

"Relay the images all over the _Dawn_. Everyone should see this," said Commander Dante with a small smile to the first mate. "Any idea what caused the 'splosion?"

"I'm not too sure skip. No UNSC vessels were engaging it. Even the _Thermopylae _didn't really fight. It was like she was getting in the way of the plasma torpedo. Like she was shielding something…"

"Well, I heard those armour the Spartans wear can survive in space. You don't think a certain Spartan decided to have a little space walk do ya?" asked Commander Dante half-jokingly to his first mate, remembering the speck he saw.

"Probably, skip," replied the first mate.


	2. Chapter 2

The jubilation following the destruction of the Covenant assault carrier was not lost in the ODST hangar as the elite troops heard (and felt) the good news. High-fives and pats on the back were awarded to one another as the destruction of the enemy ship played over and over again on the television screen in the hangar.

"Man, what I would give to be part of that," said Lou as he looked at the screen.

"In due time kid," laughed the Lt as he ruffled Lou's black hair with his gloved hand.

"Hey, c'mon. I just combed it," whined Lou as he tried to smooth his disheveled hair back into place with little success. Unfortunately, this only brought the attention of the rest of the platoon as they too began to tousle with his hair.

"Aww, wittle Wou needs to be handsome for today, does he?" cooed Sgt Brenda as contorted her face to resemble that of a doting parent. Batting her eyelashes for added effect. This only brought on another round of side-splitting laughter from the ODST platoon as Private Lou blushed a little while giving the platoon the finger gesture.

Sgt Brenda just had to remind everyone again of the embarrassing incident that happened to Lou when he had accidentally mistook her for a pretty Pelican pilot he was trying to hook up with as part of a dare from the platoon. Let's just say that Sgt Brenda, the tomboy that she was, would not suffer the presence of another human being who offered her a bouquet of roses and chocolates. She did not mind the chocolates though.

"Hey, lay off the lil fella will'ya? He's been through a lot already," smiled Cpl William a.k.a Big Bill by the rest of the ship. No elaborations were needed to explain the nickname. The huge hulk of a man was lifting rocket launchers at a corner. Lou was just about to thank him when he added, "It's not like he got a date from ya or anythin' rite? Did he?" Everyone roared with laughter again. This time, however, Sgt Brenda did not join in. Growling, she threw her helmet at the man. "Ooof! Nasty," laughed Big Bill.

Finally, Lt had to play peacemaker again. "Ok, ok. Quit it already. While I appreciate it that no one has tried to kill one another yet, we have important matters at hand,"

Sgt Brenda immediately got serious again, "What's up sir? Any orders to move out?"

"Not right now Sgt. But I need the platoon to be on standby for a drop at any moment. Apparently…there were two assault carriers. Not just one."

Every ones' heads were raised at the statement. Two?

"Um, sir? Where's the other one?" the question asked by Lou was apparently what was on the platoon's mind too as the hangar reverberated with murmurs of agreement.

Lt gave a deep breath as he told them the news. It was supposed to be classified but hell, the men were going to know about it sooner or later anyway. "The carrier has breached the MAC gun cluster above North Africa. It is now hovering above New Mombasa and is in the process of landing troops and equipment into the city."

Faces paled as the news sank in. Not only had the Covenant discovered Earth, they had made planet fall. One ODST punched his locker in frustration, cursing.

"Well, there is some good news to it," said the Lt. "Apparently, the Covenant are not planning on glassing Earth anytime soon. They're just holding position and trying to gain ground. This gives us the opportunity to destroy them before they decide to change their minds."

"Then let's get onto it," swore Sgt Brenda as she stood up from the bench she was sitting on and began barking orders, "Alright, sweethearts! We suit up in ten mikes time. I want all weapons and ammo drawn from the armoury and in the pods in twenty. Got that ladies?!"

"Got ya, Sarge!" answered the whole platoon in unison.

"Well whadyall waiting for? Christmas?" the hangar came alive as the ODSTs prepared for battle.

"C'mon Lou. Lemme show ya what I did to ya sniper rifle. It's gonna be real fun to play with now," grinned Big Bill. Lou just nodded.

"Man, that Sgt Brenda's a real bitch! Twenty minutes to prep? But hell, I'd pick her over my ex-wife any day," Lou heard a fellow trooper whispering to another. Both of them sniggered at the remark. Lou found himself grinning too as he followed Big Bill to the armoury.

"I want intel No 2," said Commander Dante as he entered the bridge. Two marines guarding the bulkhead to the bridge gave a crisp salute as the Skipper passed them. Commander Dante hastily saluted back before returning his attention to his first mate. The _Ardent Blade_'s first mate gave a curt nod to the Dante as he resumed his study of the frigate's tactical maps.

"Ground battles are raging fiercely all over the area around here," he began as he showed the commander a hologram of the surrounding areas around New Mombasa and the metropolis itself. "The reports that I have just decrypted from ONI speculates that the Covenant are looking for something down there. Not sure what it is but it sure as hell explains why they have not started glassing anything yet."

Commander Dante raised an eyebrow. The first mate rarely swore and it is usually a sign of dire circumstances.

"Sir! I've got an inbound transmission from the Cairo MAC gun. It's a general transmission. Everyone's getting it," announced the communications specialist of the _Blade_ from his console.

"Let's have it son," said Dante

The main holo-panel in the bridge switched from battle schematics to the visage of Lord Admiral Hood. His pale face contrasted sharply against the blackness of space in the background.

"Men and women of the UNSC and to the entire world," the message began, "Today, we face the greatest of challenges that we, as a species, have ever had to confront. We stand now at the twilight of our existence with our enemies now at our very doorstep, pounding the doors to our mighty fortress. But in this darkest hour, this brink to an endless precipice, is where, I believe, that the true strength of humanity will manifest itself. Our indomitable spirit and our will to overcome any difficulty will prevail in the end. I ask now that every citizen of humanity able to draw arms to join in our epic struggle in the defense of our homes and our loved ones. For those brave souls already in the fight, I can only salute you for no words of praise nor any medal of honour that can be bestowed can ever measure up to the valour and courage that you have shown in the face of such adversity. Thank you and good luck to us all."

The bridge went silent as the message ended.

"We can't do much up here. What do ground forces have in the area to work with, No 2?"

"Not much skip; they have an assault carrier on their side and more troops. Not to mention they always have the bigger guns. However, the frigate _In Amber Clad _is supporting the troops…and I hear the Chief's in the fight too."

"The Master Chief?" thought Commander Dante, "We might just have a chance."

"Alright No 2, bring the _Blade _down. We're giving our boys some backup."


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note: Hi spartan585 here, sorry for the late update. To ChairForce1987, really sorry for not adding dat bit in this chapter. But I'll definitely add it in the next one. Promise. and thanks for ur reviews. _

_To other readers, please review too so i can make better stories for everyone.  
_

_Other than that, just wanted to point out that I changed the story's rating to M. I just dun know how:). Okok enjoy the 3rd chapter…._

* * *

The ODSTs were hardly surprise when the alarm finally sounded. In fact, they were actually expecting it. With the exception of a few troopers still touching up their gear, most of the platoon were already suited up, kitted and were ready to fight.

Lou sat on a bench holding his customized sniper rifle. His helmet was beside him and he looked silent and thoughtful as he pondered his fate once the SOEIVs land and the battle begin. Lou had enlisted into the marines once he was old enough to. Being an orphan, there was no one who would have cared to stop him. He himself did not mind the independence. Lou was a loner; always had been. In fact, this trait had partly got him the spot as a sniper in the first place.

During his 2nd year in the marines, Lou volunteered himself in the ODST corps and there he remained until now. The significantly tougher training and smaller number of personnel in the elite formation helped Lou to know a few people he could really count as friends. Big Bill was among them and grudgingly, even cranky Sgt Brenda. She was hard and tough most of the time but sometimes, she did enjoy some friendly banter with the men and though she may not admit it, displayed almost a bit of preferential treatment for Lou knowing of his background and the fact that he was the youngest in the entire platoon.

"Hey Lou, you ok?" asked Big Bill in a concerned voice. His rocket launchers had already been stowed away into his HEV. He was now carrying only the standard BR55 Battle Rifle which slung over his right shoulder.

Lou could tell it was him from a mile away. Even when wearing his helmet. No one had a deeper voice than Big Bill. Lou gave a small smile and nodded.

Big Bill gave a snort before sitting beside the younger soldier. "Man, for a so-called loner, you really suck at lying," he chided. "Still thinking of her right?" he added in a more sympathetic tone.

"Yeah, maybe a bit," admitted Lou. "But she got her own problems now with Earth under attack and all. Just hope she's safe that's all."

"She'll be safe kid," Big Bill assured him with a smile. "If you think 'bout it, Pelican pilots last a lot longer than us leathernecks. Hell, all she has to do is make'em couple of supply runs and troop drops is all. All YOU need to worry now kid is yourself an' the man beside you. If it be mean ol' Sarge Brenda, well then you can worry for them Covvie bastards she's gonna mangle to pulp with her bare hands!"

Both of them laughed at the joke when Sgt Brenda starting shouting for everyone to gather at the briefing room for the mission details.

"Thanks Will," said Lou, calling him by his real name. Only Lou had the privilege of doing that.

"Anytime kid," laughed Big Bill as he ruffled Lou's hair. "C'mon, let's go."

The briefing room was made to be quite spacious but accommodating almost 30 ODSTs in their armour can prove to be quite a challenge. In the end, a substantial number which included (not surprisingly) Big Bill had to endure the mission brief standing up at the back.

"Marines! Officers on deck!" announced Sgt Brenda as the Lt and Commander Dante entered the room. The ODSTs tried their best to stand up and salute but their attempts were comically hindered by the constricting amount of space. This went on for a few seconds before finally; Commander Dante had to step in.

"It's alright men. I don't really do formal that well. Please be seated. For those at the back, try and make yourselves comfortable. This mission briefing will hopefully be mercifully short," said the Skip with a wry grin. The room vibrated with chuckles from the men.

When he deemed the ODSTs ready, Commander Dante began his briefing, "Men, as you may have already known, the Covenant have arrived and made planet fall on our home world. We cannot allow them to consolidate their position which is why we are attempting a deep strike right at their landing zone to cut them off troops and supplies. This will not only give our forces already engaging the enemy to have a bit of leverage but also a shot at actually capturing the Covenant assault carrier that is supporting the invasion."

The Skip's last words brought stares of surprise from the ODSTs. Some even had their mouths hanging open.

Anticipating the reaction, Commander Dante nodded to the Lt who switched on the tactical hologram-projector. Sgt Brenda dimmed the briefing room lights so that the image projected can be seen more clearly. The light from the projector cast a strangely comforting glow in the room. It was like a campfire where kids sit around telling jokes and singing songs. However, this particular 'campfire' is definitely not normal.

"Yes, gentlemen…and lady," everyone smirked at Sgt Brenda who gestured towards them. "You all heard correctly. What you all are going to do is extremely dangerous and has never been done before. However, the reason why has been given to me straight from ONI just 10 minutes ago."

Commander Dante used a small remote control to show the ODSTs an image of an alien. It was unlike any species of the Covenant Lou had seen before. The creature was scrawny and lanky and did not look physically imposing like the Elites or stocky like the Grunts. It had mottled skin with a purplish hue and a long neck. The most startling feature however, was the creature's face. It had appendages on its chin which resembled a beard and large, droopy eyes which gave the impression of someone old and wise.

If Lou did not know better, that was an alien grandpa with lots of cute purple-skinned grandchildren to dote upon. The alien was sitting atop an immense throne-like chair which contrasted sharply with its lanky frame. The gold-coloured chair had a kind of shimmer around it; an energy shield. In addition to that, a mean-looking cannon protruded from the front of the chair. Finally, the fact that the entire thing seemed to be floating in mid-air suggests that it had some sort of anti-gravity propulsion to help it move. That alien looked so fragile, it did not look that it could endure a few steps on its legs before fainting from exhaustion.

"This creature here gentlemen, is called a Prophet," Commander Dante's voice roused Lou from his thoughts. "They are the leaders of Covenant society. Their function is basically the same as a head of state and religious leader all rolled into one. As such, they wield a great deal of influence and power within the Covenant; higher than even the Elites."

The room reverberated with murmurs as the ODSTs begin to talk among themselves.

"Hey you sissies, the Skip ain't done talking yet. So shut yer yapping and get back to lis'nin," scolded Sgt Brenda, demanding silence from everyone. Immediately, the room quieted down.

Even in the low light, Lou could see Commander Dante smiling before he continued, "If you gentlemen like that bit of news, ya'll definitely gonna love this; apparently, one of the Prophets is on board that assault carrier right now. That is the objective of your mission gentlemen; secure the Prophet and we might even end this damn war."

That got everyone started and even Sgt Brenda was at a loss for words. It was a momentary lapse of course as she was soon telling everyone to shut up because it was now the Lt's turn to talk. Lt took the remote control from the Skip before thanking him. He then faced the ODSTs to begin the tactical briefing.

"Right…so now that you all already know the nature of this mission and its importance, you all won't screw it up so badly," the remark drew chuckles from the room. Unfazed, the Lt continued, "The platoon will be split into 3 squads; 2 assault and 1 in reserve. We will be conducting this strike in coordination with 7th battalion of the…_Helljumpers_."

The Lt waited patiently for the groans to cease before continuing, "As much as I share your sentiments, we need every man we can get. I will be in command of the 1st assault squad while Sgt Brenda the 2nd. The reserve squad will come under the command of a Captain from the 7th. Don't ask why; it's how it is. The insertion will begin the moment the Master Chief neutralizes the Covenant Scarab currently rampaging in the inner metropolis…,"

"Scarab, sir? What is that?" a voice from behind Lou asked a question.

In reply, the Lt played a video on the projector. "This, gentlemen, came with the ONI package. Enjoy."

The video showed downtown Old Mombasa through the camera lens of a marine cameraman. The marine was likely perched on a building so as to get a better view. Some chatter could be heard between a couple of snipers lying prone in front of the cameraman. One of them started talking to a trio of Pelicans which could be seen flying past their position as they headed towards the city. All was running smoothly when an immense machine lumbered to intercept the Pelicans. It resembled a big insect as it moved on its spindly metal legs, crushing a car beneath its weight. As the Pelicans got nearer, the part which resembled the head seemed to open up like a blooming flower which produced a large, very evil-looking plasma cannon.

The Pelicans tried their best to swerve out of the way but it was too late; the plasma cannon disgorged a torrent of energy towards the middle Pelican causing it to burst into flames before crashing to the ground. Of the remaining two Pelicans, only the one which swerved to the right manage to escape relatively unscathed. The other one however, was not so lucky. Although it did manage to escape the main cannon, it was not spared from the rounds of a guided munitions turret firing from the top of the machine's body. The explosive shards must have struck something critical as the aircraft also crashed. Nevertheless, the nature of the crash gave rise to some hope that the downed Pelican could have survivors unlike the first one. The video wavered for a moment as the small group reacted in fear and shock from what happened. Then it ended.

The room became silent as the tactical slides returned to the holo-projector.

"And that…is a Scarab," replied the Lt simply.

* * *

The ODSTs were dismissed as soon as the briefing ended. Commander Dante was right. It didn't take very long. Give and take, the whole thing lasted for a little more than ten minutes. But it was a nerve-racking ten minutes. Most of the men, Lou included, had discovered more things in the briefing than they had ever did for all their time in the ODSTs and the pressure of the coming mission was immense.

"Men, get to your pods. The Chief is already engaging the Scarab. We will be dropping as soon as the thing's down," announced the Lt holding his helmet at his side as he walked briskly to his own HEV.

Sgt Brenda herself was getting last minute preps on her pistol as she rallied the platoon to hurry up, "You heard the Lt, get moving you apes! I'm hungry and right now I'm in the mood for some squid!"

"Hoo-rah!" cheered the entire platoon as they clambered into their respective SOEIVs, some laughing as they strapped themselves in.

Turning around, Sgt Brenda grabbed Lou by his utility vest as he was just about to walk to his SOEIV. "Listen kid, when we get down there. You'll be alone. I want you to focus. No bravado shit, you understand?" she said roughly; however the concern in her voice was obvious and sincere.

Lou smiled through his helmet, "Sure thing Sarge…I'll try not to disappoint you."

Sgt Brenda gave a crooked grin as she knocked the back of Lou's helmet affectionately, "Yeah, you'd better dipshit. Now get moving."

"Right away Sergeant," said Lou as he gave a salute before running to board his own SOEIV.

Big Bill's SOEIV was conveniently placed beside Lou's. As the latter was strapping in, the older man could not help grinning, "You know kid. I don't know why you're so into that Pelican chick. You and Sarge really share a bond, you dig?"

"A platonic bond Will, don't get any ideas."

"Just looking out for my man, kid," said Big Bill as he chuckled. "But Lou, you take good care of yourself down there, 'kay?"

"Yeah man, you too," replied Lou.

* * *

"No 2, is the _Blade_ in geosync with New Mombasa?" asked Commander Dante as he returned to the frigate's bridge, ignoring the salutes of the sentries standing at the doorway.

"Almost there Skip, we'll be perfectly aligned in ETA 2 mikes time. I took the liberty of downloading the most tactically feasible landing points for the ODST SOEIVs when they reach planet fall into their navigation systems." replied the first mate calmly as he studied the tactical maps.

"Excellent work No 2! And they say shipboard A.I.s are more reliable," praised Commander Dante as he gave his First Mate a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Skip and sir, we just got a transmission from a sergeant of the 405th based on Diego Garcia. He wants to know how soon we are making planet fall as they intend to engage in diversionary attacks to draw Covenant fire away from the approaching SOEIVs."

"Tell him now would be good time," said the Skip with a cold smile

* * *

The canopy of the SOEIV gave a soft hissing sound as it closed, its titanium-ceramic alloy construction would shield its occupant from the intense heat of re-entry onto Earth's surface. Still, Lou could feel beads of perspiration forming on his forehead despite his suit's fairly efficient air-conditioning system. He knew that it was neither the heat nor the cramped condition of the passenger compartment causing it; it was the lingering sensation of facing his own mortality.

Even though exoatmospheric insertions are nothing new, the risk of mishaps is still a frightening possibility. The slightest bit of miscalculation could cause a HEV to have its heat shield face the wrong way, incinerating the occupant, the drag shield could malfunction plummeting the entire pod like a meteor onto a planet's surface or in the most survivable scenario (though it is still debatable), the computer guidance system malfunctions and the poor sod unexpectedly landed right in the middle of enemy forces.

Lou swore to himself as struggled to keep those unpleasant thoughts from influencing him further. He was experiencing a common ODST jump trauma, but overcoming it on a more permanent basis was always a prevailing obstacle.

"Good afternoon Pfc. Lou Jenkins, it's me; your trusted and reliable A.I. Bob. Welcome aboard the Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle. How are you feeling today?" Lou's chirpy and sometimes annoying 'dumb' A.I. In all honesty, Bob was definitely not dumb of course. He was just created with lesser expertise than other types of more advanced A.I.

"I've been better Bob. Where's your holo anyway?"

In reply, a Bob's avatar appeared at the hologram emitter to the left of Lou. He resembled some sort of mad scientist with his lab coat, large glasses and hair which seemed to defy gravity.

"You look older the last time I saw you," remarked Lou, his hands busy checking schematics and gear.

Bob gave a wild, crackling laugh as befits his avatar, "Well of course Lou. I have to stay in-character you know."

Lou smiled at him.

"Ok Bob. We're dropping very soon. You got this tin can prepped?"

"But of course. What do you think I am? Human?" complained the A.I, pretending to pout.

Before Lou could reply, the SOEIV began to vibrate as it prepared to launch. The ship's First Mate, a stoic, no-nonsense man announced through the intercom, "Launching prep sequence activated. Launch imminent in T-minus 60 seconds."

The Lt's voice crackled through the intercom in Lou's helmet soon after, "Alright men, this is it. The fate of humanity is now on our shoulders. Good luck and stay safe. Marshall out."

"You heard the Lt munchkins. Now I know you all know what's comin' so none of that _poopy woopy snookums_ crap from me," piped in Sgt Brenda.

The entire network erupted in laughter at the remark. When it finally died down, Lou heard one more crackle as his intercom came to life once again; it was Big Bill.

"Good luck kid. See you down there."

"Yeah, you too Will."

"Launch imminent in T-minus 20 seconds."

Lou's SOEIV vibrated even more violently making him wonder if his pod is going to survive the journey at all.

"Launch imminent in T-minus 10…9…,"

"You know, reciting litanies of faith to omniscient deities is _rumoured_ to bring comfort in situations like these."

"Well Bob, I'm not really the religious type."

"If that's the case than a battle cry is a feasible substitute."

"Battle cry, huh?"

"…3…2…1…Drop."

"YIPPIE-KAI-YAY, MOTHERFUCKER!"

Lou screamed as loud as he could as the SOEIVs plummeted towards New Mombasa.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

Lou was still screaming his lungs out for the next 10 seconds. He soon had to stop though when his lungs finally ran out of air.

"Well, thank my sockets THAT has finally ended," fumed Bob as he unclasped his hands from his ears. "Do you have any idea how many of my circuits you just fried with that ill-begotten soprano of yours? Which, by the way, I can plainly conclude that you are an absolute novice in."

Lou just grinned behind his mask, "Well Bob, it never hurts to try right?"

Bob gave a scowl as his avatar feigned a look of rapprochement. "Well, then do so only in the presence of the Covenant. It might help in the war effort."

Lou gave a laugh, "You know they'd very well shoot me to pieces if I so much squeak. Not that they won't even if I don't."

"Indeed Lou," commented Bob before letting out an exaggerated laugh. If he had meant to resemble a mad scientist, he was half right.

"Right…," murmured Lou as he rolled his eyes, "Okay, Bob. I need you to play the battle net chatter over the comms," said Lou as he tried to keep himself distracted from the knowledge of him plummeting towards Earth.

"Why? Isn't that illegal?" questioned Bob with a wide grin. Nevertheless, his hologram began to glow bright green as proceeded to do his requested task.

"Well not like that it's gonna change anything but I'd rather have a bit more intel on the current situation if I expect to get out of this mission at least alive," said Lou. His voice sounded a bit distant as he was still distracted by the whole feeling of his SOEIV's descent.

The communications channel came to life a second later with a burst of static. This was followed by the voices of people fighting the battle below.

"Bob, crank up the volume a notch. Let's hear this," said Lou as he became rigid, trying to make out the chatter he was hearing amid the distortion.

"Aye-aye skipper," replied the AI sarcastically.

* * *

"…_..dammit private where's that damn artillery coming from?!"_

"_Sergeant, I want you to fall back to grid Kilo one-niner for evac. You're heavily outgunned."_

"_We can handle it sir, we just need a couple more minutes…"_

"_Sergeant, fall back now. That's an order."_

"…_we…can…do this…AAARRRRGGGHHH!"_

"_Sergeant?…Sergeant Apone do you read?... DAMMIT!"_

"_Drive these bastards back people,"_

"_Kill them! Kill them all!"_

"_Shit, I'm out. Get the damn Pelicans down here now, we need more ammo."_

"_Sir! Grid Kilo two-three is lost…I repeat grid Kilo two-three is lost. We're retreating back to Kilo two-two right now, over."_

"_Dammit Corporal where's the rest of your squad?"_

"_Only me left sarge…"_

"…_id Kilo two-two is being overrun! We need reinforcements asap! Hurry the…,"_

"_Hold the line gentlemen. Hold the goddamn line!"_

"_AAARRRGGGHHH!"_

"_Keep firing. Keep firing."

* * *

_

'Yadda, yadda. Anything new besides death and despair?' thought Lou to himself.

As if his prayers were answered, the battle net chatter began to take an unusual turn.

"_Hey, what's going on?"_

"_I don't like this people. Stay sharp."_

"_This isn't right…"_

"_Where're they going Sarge?"_

"_Hell if I know. But it ain't nuthin to feel good about I'm sure."_

"_I don't like this…"_

"_The Lt's gotta know about this."_

"_Someone get on the radio now!"_

"_Hotchkiss! Get ur ass on the comms rite now!"_

"_Shit man, this ain't rite I'm telling you…"_

"_And I'm telling you. I heard ya the first goddamn time!"_

"_Lt the Covie's are retreating!"_

"_Sir, Covenant forces in the area are retreating."_

"_Sir the Covie's are pulling back towards their ship."

* * *

_

"What the hell's going on Bob?" asked Lou to his AI.

"How should I know?" retorted Bob.

"Well, you are the brains right?" answered Lou.

"Right, and don't you forget that," said Bob with a wry smile plastered on his face. "Well from what we have gleaned from the battle net so far, I can confidently infer that the Covenant are somehow retreating from the battle and are retreating back to their assault carrier,"

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out for myself Bob. What I want to know is, why?"

"Well…,"

A sudden rocking of the small reentry craft quickly got both of their attention.

"Okay. What gives?" demanded Lou as he checked the monitors highlighting the SOEIV's hull integrity.

"A huge spike of ambient Slipspace particles in grid Kilo one-niner six has occurred."

"Slipspace particles? That means…"

"Yes, it means that a Slipspace rupture is occurring in the area. Long story short, we got a ship jumping in the city."

"WHAT! That'll destroy everything! And the grid happens to be our fuckin' landing zone!"

"I'm aware of that Lou. Well at least we'll go out with a bang."

"You know what? You suck at comforting."

"Well Lou, I am your typical emotionless AI."

"Then what about your goddamn sense of self-preservation?"

"According to my calculations, any chance of survival from redirecting our SOEIV through the use of our landing thrusters stands at a 96.75% chance of failure."

"Well that definitely...sucks."

"Indeed."

"But I ain't quitting just yet you piece of demoralizing silicon; Bob, fire up the thrusters at maximum burn."

The A.I. gave a surprised grunt.

"You really don't know when to quit do you?" asked Bob sarcastically.

"Of course not. 5% ain't much but it still is hope."

"You humans never cease to amaze me, you know?"

"I know."

"Alright then, initializing thruster burn…we have 30 seconds of thrust before fuel reserves kick in."

"And how much more time would that give us Bob?"

Lou's question caused the AI to give a stunned silence.

"You're not thinking of using them too right?"

"Bob, we need to make everything count. This tin can's tough and state of the art. We'll survive the landing don't worry. But to land we need to survive the drop. I intend to do just that."

"Fine, consumption of emergency thruster fuel reserves would add an additional 20 seconds of thrust."

"Thank you, Bob."

Outside the plummeting craft, the sleek silhouette of the Covenant assault carrier was slowly getting smaller as the craft entered the Slipspace rupture.

"How're we doing Bob?"

"We're barely able to maintain our current trajectory Lou. The slipspace interference is hindering my navigational capabilities. Basically we're flying dark."

"Damn," muttered Lou in frustration and dread. "I haven't even fired a shot and I'm already as good as dead. This really sucks."

"Oh don't say that Lou, you're a war hero now. They would probably have an epitaph in your honour."

"Yeah, along with the few other millions of people who are already dead since this fuckin' war started," muttered Lou.

"Ha-ha. Touché."

The Covenant assault carrier was almost completely inside the slipspace portal when a garbled transmission was intercepted by Lou's SOEIV.

* * *

_"Sir, the Prophet is bugging out! Request permission to engage!"_

_"Negative, Commander. I'll vector two heavies for starside intercept."_

_"Ma'am, Slipspace rupture off the target's bow! It's going to jump, inside the city!"_

_"There's no time sir!"_

_"Greenlight! Greenlight to engage!"

* * *

_

"How far away are we Bob?"

"The thrusters are burning as we speak. If we keep this up we have a 0.125% of actually diverting to an area grid far enough from the slipspace epicenter to avoid incineration."

"I'm taking that this is working."

As the SOEIV raced towards Earth the Covenant assault carrier disappeared into the Slipspace rupture.

"Lou, I think we may have a bit of a situation," announced Bob after a moment.

"What is it Bob?" asked Lou wearily.

"Okay, we're flying dark, yes?"

"Yeah."

"However I took the liberty to monitor the SOEIV's trajectory. We're changing course; towards the epicenter, no less."

"WHAT! Why?"

Bob gave out a disgusted snort.

"I didn't do it if that's what you're thinking. I'm not inept like a human."

"Just…get to the point Bob."

"Apparently a suction force caused by the gravitic pull of the rupture has overpowered our momentum and is now…"

"Sucking us in," finished Lou as a resigned sigh escaped his lips. "Well, what can I say Bob? We've had a good run. Today just…isn't our day that's all."

"Yes, it is Lou. It has been a pleasure serving as your tactical A.I."

"Pleasure's all mine…let's just enjoy the show shall we?"

All Lou got was mad laughter from the speakers. Closing in onto his doom, Lou had to admit that even if he was going to die, he was going to kick the bucket with a nice light show imprinted in his mind. There was a deafening roar and the SOEIV rocked violently before everything went black.

* * *

**Sorry about the long delay and even shorter update. rest assured that this distraction is temporary. in the meantime just for a glimpse; yes the next chapter is gonna be set in the 41st millenium. but i guess you guys already know that:) look out for me kay? i won't give up on this story. promise.**

**spartan585**


	5. Chapter 5

The weather was beautiful to say the least; the sky was mostly clear with a few clouds clumping sparsely and the sun shone brightly onto the surface of the verdant alien world.

Luthien Garmilos busied herself with herding the flock towards the pasture. It was a slow, mundane and ordinary chore. Nothing unusual ever happens on this world anyway. Indeed, compared to some other worlds of the Exodite Eldar, the planet the _mon-keigh_ named Verdant I lived up to its name. In all her eighty- nine years, the closest Luthien had experienced concerning the dystopia of the forty-first millennium was the arrival of a flotilla of human ships on her world with the intention to trade. Calling themselves 'rogue traders' these humans were apparently more tolerant of being in the presence of beings other than their own.

The female eldar recollected the day the humans arrived near her tribe's encampment in their unusual-looking shuttle craft. They arrived in late morning just as her tribe had completed their routine rituals honouring Isha. Her father, the chieftain, and several elders accompanied by a guard of warriors led by her brother, Aradan, went out to meet them. Luthien and the rest of the tribe were not meant to witness the activity between the groups but she had grown up listening to stories of the off-worlders and the assortment of cargo that they bring with them in their travels to trade and barter.

Wondrous things.

Unusual things.

Besides that, Luthien had never seen a _mon-keigh_ before. So coaxing her faithful pet Gyrinx, Melda, the two sneaked out of the family hut to follow her father and his followers. To say that she was fascinated would be an understatement. If it wasn't for all that facial hair, Luthien could have sworn that humans look vaguely similar to an eldar from a fair distance. The thick heavy-looking garments adorning the aliens' bodies only accentuated their already broad frames even more. They were all shorter than the shortest eldar in the group and their mannerisms evoked a silent chill in Luthien that hinted her to exercise due caution. Indeed if Melda had not let out a distressed whimper, she would have brushed aside such feelings as mere paranoia.

The business deal did not interest Luthien much. She was more interested in what was beig traded upon. From her hiding place behind a clump of shrubs, the young eldar saw crates of cargo being unloaded from the shuttle to barter for some raw crystal ores that her tribe had excess off from a previous mining trip to the Adegan valley some seasons back. Seeing a crate was being opened to have its contents examined, Luthien subconsciously strained her neck to catch a glimpse of what it contained. Even her keen eyes had trouble discerning the nature of the cargo with so much movement blocking her view. Unfortunately, she never did manage to see what was bartered upon by her father and the elders as the dislodging of a traitorous boulder from an accidental push threatened to give away her position. With that, Luthien bade a hasty retreat back to the encampment with Melda in tow.

* * *

Closing her eyes, Luthien gave a quiet giggle as she recalled the rebuke she got from her father and Aradan when they returned to the homestead. As punishment for her failure to 'rein in the temptations of Tzeentch', she was to herd and keep watch over the tribes entire flock of megadons until the end of fall season. Knowing her rather restless nature, it was the perfect punishment.

"Well Melda, Cegorach is probably laughing at us right now along with his harlequins," remarked the eldar maiden as she scratched the Gyrinx between its ears. The feline purred contentedly as it made itself comfortable between Luthien's legs. Sighing again but this time out of boredom, Luthien leaned back against a tree as she resumed her vigil over her flock.

_**Nothing ever happens here.**_

When a stirring in the back of Luthien's mind brought her senses to full alert. It was a psychic signature. The unmistakable signature of a rift in the warp. And it was close.

Very close.

Luthien instinctively looked up at the sky just in time to see the sky opening up like a maw opening its jaws. The purplish hue of the warp rift blended strangely well with the blue sky and every now and then, warp lightning would spew out in angry salvoes. Around her, the megadons were in a panicked frenzy as they ran about, the chaotic energies of the warp driving them wild. The largest of them, the alpha male, was exceptionally restless as it brayed noisily, biting and kicking any of the smaller ones if they got too close. Getting up on her feet, Luthien focused her mind on the male, imposing her superior will on its primitive mind. If she could control the beast, the rest of the flock would follow. Her psychic nudge was comfortingly amplified with Melda lending her strength to its resonance to help her mistress.

Slowly but surely, Luthien's efforts began to bear fruition. The megadon began to calm itself down and with it, the rest of the flock gradually followed suit. Breathing a sigh of relief, Luthien decided it was time to bring the flock back home. Gathering her herding staff and her satchel, she gestured to Melda and the two walked towards the herd. The entire time, Luthien kept a wary gaze on the warp rift. Things were probably going to be tense back at the tribe.

It was disconcerting to say the least. Warp rifts hardly ever appear over the skies of this planet and when they do it was usually deep in space all of them by long range patrol craft of the Imperial Navy which never cared to bother with the world. In addition, there had never been any incursion by the forces of Chaos in over a hundred years. Even then, her father had told her, it was but a minor renegade party of cultists escaping from the Imperium of Man. Not surprisingly, they were destroyed the moment they dared to desecrate the planet's surface with their filthy footsteps.

But this warp rift was very different to her and she had no idea why that was.

A loud boom caused Luthien to snap her head up just in time to discern the shape of a pod-like object exiting the rift and hurtling down towards the surface leaving a fiery trail.

"What in Isha's name…," murmured the maiden in alarm as she traced the pod's approximate trajectory with her keen Eldar eyes. The object disappeared behind a canopy of trees in the distance, emitting a huge roar as it impacted the surface of the planet. Luthien gauged that the point of impact was no more than a fraction of a day's travel. She was tempted to run off to the crash site to investigate when the familiar braying of the megadons got her attention.

Sighing to herself, Luthien grudgingly prodded the nearest megadon with her staff to start the flock moving. Her little investigation would have to come later.

* * *

_**Chapter 5! its been awhile but yeah here's the update. got some reviews asking whether dis really is a w40k fic. yeah it is. its just dat dis story was written sometime b4 da crossover option was created. trust me it is definitely laced with some grimdark:) **_


	6. Chapter 6

The atmosphere in the village was filled with worry about the warp rift. Mothers were busy gathering their young while the men folk occupied themselves with securing the village against potential threats. In the middle of the village, a gathering of the tribe's elders had convened. Luthien's father stood foremost among them. His distinctive silvery hair unmistakable among the other greys and the whites.

Luthien hurried to her homestead with Melda in tow. She saw her mother sitting in a meditation stance outside the structure, her runestones glowing and floating in the air in complex patterns. Around her, the seer council sat in a similar fashion as they lent her their psychic strength. Cringing silently, Luthien crept besides the nearest seer novice, determined to make herself as discreet as possible as she sat herself down-

"So nice of you to join us, Luthien."

She should have knnown better.

"I apologise for my tardy punctuality mother. It will not happen again."

A mental affirmation from her mother brought an end to the private conversation. Sighing, Luthien closed her eyes and began finding her centre. As immature as she seemed to the rest of the tribe, Luthien was a gifted psyker, exceptional even among her peers. Very soon a psychic shield bubble formed around the village. Any mortal or warp-based abomination would find themselves disoriented and lost from kilometers around, making them easy pickings for the numerous eldar sentinels lurking around. Only those from Luthien's tribe would be immune from its effects.

Opening her eyes, Luthien's mother addressed the circle.

"The wards are in place, my children. Our village is safe for the moment. You may return to your homes for now."

As the other seer novices left, Luthien hurried back onto her feet dusting the non-existent dirt on her clothes.

"What did you see, Luthien?" asked her mother.

The eldar maiden was visibly surprised by the question. She did not think that she was being too obvious.

"Pardon me?"

Luthien's mother sighed.

"It does not take even a seer like me to see your troubled expression. Call it mother's intuition," said the older female with a smirk on her face.

"Something came out of the warp rift, mother; an anomaly unlike anything I've ever seen. It does not resemble any workings of the Ruinous Powers," replied Luthien in a wary tone.

"And so you wish to explore further, I presume?"

Luthien looked away, embarrassed only to feel her mother's hand on her cheek turning her head to face her again.

"My dear daughter; such fire resides within you. If you had been one of our craftworld brethren, I believe you would've been more at ease along the path of the Ranger rather than that of a Seer."

The younger eldar bowed her head in shame. It was no secret that the former path was a stereotypical calling for outcasts and vagabonds of the dwindling eldar race. Expecting the downcast expression on her daughter's features, the older female reassured her.

"Peace, my beautiful warrior; it was not a veiled rebuke. For I believe that your zeal and fortitude is exactly what is needed to face the coming times," she said.

"I don't understand, mother. What is going to happen?" asked Luthien worriedly. All she got was a knowing look from her mother and the usual reply.

"In due time, child. In due time."

Despite scrunching her nose in frustration, Luthien bowed respectfully to her mother before entering the homestead to get her things. With the flock safely in the pen and the village secured inside the Girdle of Melian, she was free to do some exploring of her own. Heading towards the small pantry in the corner, Luthien took some Lembas traveller's bread and a small bag of dried berries. Filling her water bag to the brim, Luthien then reached for her focus staff. Made from pure wraithbone, it was a gift given to her by her mother to help her control her immense psychic talent. With the staff and Melda by her side, Luthien's powers would become much more manageable.

Looking around the homestead one last time, the eldar maiden caught sight of her battle knife hanging on the wall beside the weapons rack. She hesitated to bring the weapon along with her but decided that the extra precaution was worth the extra weight; the blade was not heavy to begin with anyway. Sheathed in an elegantly made scabbard, the knife itself was a masterpiece in itself. It was crafted by her father who was without peer in the art of forging weapons especially for her.

Fastening it to her lithe back, Luthien decided she was ready. Putting on her Mirage cloak, she called to Melda who sauntered towards her with an expectant look.

"Let's get going, you incorrigible wraith," whispered the maiden as she scratched the feline behind the ears affectionately. Purring contentedly, Melda rubbed her face against her mistress's leg earning light laughter from her.

Walking outside, Luthien and her companion saw that the tribe had calmed down somewhat. Still, the air of caution was still evident with parents keeping a close vigil on their children and warriors walking about on patrols.

"Luthien."

_**Oh by the gods, not him!**_

"Yes, Aradan?"

Amidst a throng of people, her brother appeared, flanked by a pair of warriors; their armour glinting in the sunlight.

"Where are you going?" asked Aradan as he looked inquisitively at Luthien's attire.

"I am going to explore some new trails I found when I was herding today," replied the female eldar to her brother.

"And you're going alone? Just in case you have not noticed, a warp rift has appeared in the sky. Only Khaine knows what came out of it."

"I can take care of myself, Aradan," said Luthien hotly. "Besides, I'm not going alone; Melda is coming with me."

Aradan and his warriors laughed upon hearing her words. The condescendence was unmistakable in their tone.

Luthien fumed. It was always like this. How could she ever find her place if everyone in the tribe continues to treat her like a youngling? She was tempted to give that imbecile brother of hers a psychic jolt when she realize that the childish act was not going to help her situation any better, especially where her father was concerned. Taking a deep breath, Luthien calmed herself down before retorting.

"Laugh all you want, _Ariee_. You weren't laughing when I beat you during that sparring session the other day."

Luthien turned her heels with a smug look on her face knowing that she had the final word. With Melda trotting beside her legs, the eldar maiden made her way out of the village, leaving Aradan dumbstruck and his warriors silently trying to hide their chuckles behind him.

Walking across the pasture where she had brought the herd earlier, Luthien headed towards where she discerned the shiny object had landed. As she walked, she subconsciously fiddled with her spirit stone which was fastened as a necklace around her neck. It was a frequent habit of hers whenever she was deep in thought or contemplation. She had been taught even from infancy how of all material treasures that an eldar possess she must revere her spirit stone the most for it alone would safe her soul from the clutches of oblivion or worse still, of _She Who Thirsts_. Granted the Exodite eldar were spared from this particular touch of Chaos but it was not a risk worth taking. The fall of the great Eldrad Ulthuan had been an example of the constant dangers the eldar face even to their very souls.

_**What would I even do once I find whatever it is that I'm supposed to be looking for. Aradan has a point; it could be some warp scourge for all I know. But I felt something when I saw that object hurtling down from the sky. Something unusual. That thing is not from the warp and I have to see what it is.**_

Gripping her staff tighter in her hand, Luthien turned her gaze towards the warp rift; its puplish-white maw was still alive with flashes of lightning and a reverberating psychic rumble which was too sensitive for her liking. She silently thanked Isha for deciding to bring a weapon to protect herself. Hopefully its use would not be needed for anything martial of nature.

* * *

**Chapter 6! thank you to all who have read and reviewed. please do continue what u guys are doing. u guys have been great. i admit dat certain aspects of w40k can be a bit sketchy. i apologise as there isnt much canon information regarding the exodite eldar. being an avid Tolkien fan however, ive filled up certain gaps with stuff from his works. i hope i dun offend anyone:) i just think this story is a good platform to pay tribute to his works in some way. please review and tell me wat u think of the story so far and how i can improve on it. any suggestions is deeply appreciated.**

**all in all thanks for reading!**

**-spartan585**


	7. Chapter 7 Curiosity Killed the Cat

Lou was not sure how long he had been out but when he came to, bright sunlight washed through his SOEIV like water. If not for the light polarizing feature in his battle helmet, he would have gotten a rather rude awakening. Looking around the craft groggily, he saw that most of the gauges and monitors were dead and spewing out sparks. In addition, the main viewing port of the SOEIV had cracks adorning its surface; testament to the massive crash which it had endured. He checked himself for any visible injuries but other than a really sore ass, he was feeling fine.

"This is Lou. Does anyone copy? Over," called out the trooper as he fiddled with his safety harness release catch. With a click, the contraption snapped open; much to Lou's relief. Peering out of the re-entry vehicle, Lou's eyes widened behind his polarised visor as he beheld a strange sight; instead of a war-ravaged urban landscape, all he saw were trees and bushes. He was in a forest but New Mombasa had no forest where he was supposed to land, at least for miles around. In addition, some of the plants looked strange to him; Lou was no expert in botany but he knew a fir tree should not have be able to grow on the African continent.

"This is so weird…where the hell did I land? Bob, are you there?" demanded Lou as he tapped the hologram projector in an impatient manner. When no response from the A.I. was forthcoming, the trooper sighed in frustration. Silently cursing to himself, Lou yanked the escape lever to manually open the SOEIV hatch. Exiting the craft in a cautious manner, Lou surveyed his surroundings and came up with an immediate conclusion; wherever he was at the moment, it was not New Mombasa or even Earth for that matter. The sight of two moons in the daylight sky darkened by the presence of a colossal fissure in the heavens seem to confirm that.

Normally, a situation like this would technically result in a panic attack at the very least. This was exactly what happened to Lou. Practically shaking in his boots, the young private began to hyperventilate as he tapped frantically on his built in communication device in his helmet. He was tempted to just shout out into the microphone for anyone to respond when his combat instincts began to kick in.

Forcing himself to calm down, Lou turned back towards the SOEIV. If there's anyone with answers, it had to be Bob. Taking one quick look around, he swept the area with his hands quivering beneath his sub-machine gun. Marginally satisfied that he was under no threat at the moment, the young soldier dashed back to his damaged craft. Examining the control panels and monitors, the situation looked bleak; besides the emergency transponder, nothing was working. The pod was an empty shell. Lou would have to find some other way to get the A.I. online again.

"First things first," muttered Lou to himself. After extracting Bob's data chip from the hologram panel and putting it carefully inside his breast pocket, he began to strip the SOEIV of supplies, equipment and weapons. As he worked, he would occasionally do a quick lookout just in case there was company.

Working quickly and silently, Lou finished his task in record time. Sergeant Brenda would have been proud, wherever she was. Taking a moment to collect himself, he thought of his team; Sergeant Sourpuss, the skip, Big Bill...

Sighing in sadness, he forced these thoughts into a corner of his mind. Looking at the stuff laid out in front of the pod, the trooper could only sigh in contemplation; standard three-day supply of MREs which he could prolong for a bit longer with some rationing, 4-litres of water from the water bag integrated inside his tactical vest in addition to a one litre water canteen, a first aid kit, a handful of hexamine cubes and a flare gun with an extra flare round. His weapons include only his trusty sniper rifle with six extra clips of sabot rounds together with the submachine gun and extra ammunition.

Privately, he could not complain; ODSTs were generally better equipped than most other soldiers in the UNSC but Lou wished at the moment that he had brought a bit more stuff with him. He was stranded and isolated with no idea where in the world he was; even then he doubted he was even on earth in the first place. Nonetheless, he had to assume that he was in a hostile environment. ODSTs are seldom dropped to places where no one wants to kill them. That meant that he had to get moving. No scanner would have missed him dropping down from the sky.

Sparing a glance at the fissure, Lou wondered if it had been the one responsible for his predicament. He remembered the last thing that happened before he lost consciousness. The Prophet of Regret's ship had bugged out inside the atmosphere. The slipspace rupture must have sucked him in together with the Covenant ship. That meant he was probably wherever the Covenant went. With that realization, Lou's alertness increased a hundred-fold. There was no way he could survive a determined assault by enemy forces if he was detected. At the same time, he could not be too far away from the SOEIV if friendly forces were looking for him.

Cursing out loud in frustration, the trooper decided that evasion must take priority over rescue. He was a sniper damn it! He was supposed to be alone and under siege.

"An OD-fucking-ST damn it! And here I am pissing my pants like some fucking greenhorn. Fuck it."

Looking around his surroundings, Lou spied the presence of a strange source of light emanating from what his heads-up display showed as east. The light seemed to grow brighter for a moment before diminishing rapidly and disappearing altogether.

Lou was aware of the risks involved but he also knew that he had to find out what that light is; hostile or otherwise. Checking his gear one more time, Lou holstered his side-arm and cocked his sniper rifle before setting off.

He did not look back.

* * *

Luthien froze a millisecond faster than Melda. There it was again; that noise of foliage being trampled upon. Whoever the perpetrator was, he was taking great pains to stay silent but it was futile to escape the keen senses of the eldar even if they were not specialist seers. Judging from the sound, he was probably slightly less than a league away; well within the clutches of Melian's Girdle.

Crouching slowly, the eldar maiden searched forth with her mind to discern the nature of the intruder. Unfortunately, the psychic ward was far too powerful even for her gifted talents to penetrate. She would have to get closer to achieve her goal. With a smirk on her face, Luthien looked down at Melda who looked up expectantly back.

"Let's go see what the tribe has caught this time, Melda. Before the sentinels do. It could have come out from the rift," whispered Luthien. Melda merely batted her leg with her paw in reply. Grinning widely now, she gestured with her head as the two continued moving. Luthien made doubly sure that her cloak was firmly attached and that her knife was still on her back. It would not do to leave herself physically defenseless if the time comes.

As the eldar maiden glided swiftly through the forest growth, her faithful gyrinx mirrored her speed for speed. Her loyal friend weaved in and out of tree roots and overturned tree trunks as she kept her constant place beside Luthien. Every once in awhile, the creature would give her mistress a little psychic nudge in the right direction if Luthien found herself a tad disoriented. Thus she was quick to trust in her friend when Melda stopped all of a sudden and became very alert.

"What is it, Melda?" whispered Luthien as she tightened her grip on her focus staff. Melda did not answer directly, merely choosing to stalk around Luthien protectively, hissing and growling. Her furry ears were inverted, a sign of extreme caution, as she continued her vigil on the invisible enemy. With growing anxiety, Luthien struggled to focus her powers as she tried to determined for herself what was disturbing Melda to such an extent. Whatever it was, its nature was a struggle to discern because of the psychic interference from the Girdle.

Only Melda's warning snarl prevented her from being torn to shreds by the talons of a bloodletter. Ducking swiftly, the eldar jabbed the demon viciously with her staff, pushing it back. With some distance between them, the end of the staff glowed brightly before releasing a burst of warp energy which blazed forward and engulfed the empyrean entity. The monstrosity let out a bestial scream as its body burnt from within. It writhed in a frenzied agony before disappearing back to immaterium from whence it came.

Breathing heavily, Luthien barely regained control of herself. Being a relatively young and inexperienced eldar seer, it was hard for her to regain her composure from such an encounter. It was not the first time she had seen a demon the warp but then, she was not fighting for her very life.

"Melda?"

Looking around anxiously and finally seeing her beloved companion, Luthien pulled the creature to her in a gentle hug. Relief and happiness flooding her every being.

_**Oh thank you, Isha…**_

The allayment was short-lived however, as piercing screams filled the air. Drawing her battle knife in her hand and her staff in the other, Luthien stood up and got to a battle stance. Beside her, Melda watched her back, growling fiercely. Warp creatures materialized around the two; hideous and ravenous in appearance. The smallest was a head taller than her father. There were eight of them as they began to close in on her. To Luthien's horror, she realized that the Girdle of Melian seemed to have no effect on these beasts. That meant that the tribe was in great danger. Even though all eldar are trained in the arts of war, it was impossible to win over a determined and savage enemy as those belonging to the Ruinous Powers. Their numbers were far too few and if the Girdle had really failed them, the only effective strategy of combating their foes had been forfeited. It was only a matter of time before the enemy found the tribe. Luthien had to warn them but first, she had to keep herself alive.

The demons were epitomes of savagery; eyes as black and cold as midnight as they stalked towards the lone eldar with salivating tongues rolling from their razor-filled mouths. Their sharp claws glinted with feral intent and some had blood and viscera hanging from them from an earlier victim. Their hides were a blackened red, mottled and emitted a foul smell that sent feelings of revulsion to the keen eldar sense of smell. Some had barbed tails. Others had bony appendages jutting out of their bodies in foul patterns of the Blood God. Hissing and snarling, the creatures advanced eagerly.

Luthien had never felt so much terror in her life. For a moment, she was almost overcome with the need to just curl up in a ball and close her eyes when she felt the comforting assurance of Melda in her head and her heart. Sparing a moment from the threat around her to look down at her friend, she saw Melda gazing back at her. The fierce expression on her face was gone and her eyes seemed to twinkle with an unnatural glint which calmed Luthien down.

Closing her eyes, her anxiety subsided and replaced with a fighting spirit. In an instant, she felt it all coming back to her; her mother's words to control her powers and her father's teachings in combat techniques. Even her many duels with Aradan. Luthien had never appreciated experiencing those times until now and she was glad she did. Opening her eyes again, she stared menacingly at the demons that, sensing the sudden change in her, began to falter a bit in their steps.

Taking a deep breath, Luthien concentrated. She felt in her mind, Melda's abilities attuning themselves to hers, multiplying her powers even more. Her focus staff began to glow again and this time, psychic energy blazed and crackles on its tip, all the while growing in size and luminance.

"Meet your doom, your monsters," growled Luthien before raising the staff over head and unleashing a psychic storm over her enemies. The initial impact threw the demons back and even incinerated one. Nonetheless, the remaining creatures recovered quickly and with a bestial war cry, they charged towards her in full abandon, howling in madness as they went.

Screaming a battle cry of her own, Luthien dashed towards the nearest demon, her knife at hand. She sidestepped it at the last moment before using her momentum to leap from the side and stab the creature right between the shoulder blades, killing it instantly. Performing a fast pirouette, she ducked just in time to avoid a demon claw before thrusting her own blade into the abomination's sternum. As the creature writhed in its death-throes, she flung it away from her knife with her powers and turned around to face her remaining foes.

The demons were savage but they were far from stupid. One tried to catch her unawares but was pounced upon by Melda. The two engaged in a struggle before Luthien ended it with a swift slice at the demon's neck.

"Thank you, Melda," whispered the eldar maiden gratefully. Looking in front of her, there were still three of them and they were not going to leave anytime-…

_**Wait, where's the other one?**_

Realising her immense folly, Luthien raised her staff to form a psychic shield to block the demon's strike from above but both knew it was too late. Hearing a loud snarl, she saw Melda leapt between her and the creature, taking the full brunt of the attack. Luthien could only watch in speechless horror as her friend was grabbed and tossed about like rag doll. A gyrinx was a small animal and there was no way they could defend themselves on their own against large and violent predators. Especially demons from the warp.

"No!" screamed Luthien with tears in her eyes as she watched Melda's broken and bloodied body tossed nonchalantly away, hitting a tree trunk with a sickening crack. Ignoring the demon, Luthien ran towards the bloodied heap which was her best friend. With trembling hands, she held Melda as tightly as she could. Stroking her wet fur, she was overjoyed to see Melda opening her eyes weakly.

"Oh, Melda. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry...," whispered Luthien as she pulled her friend closer into her arms and wept. All she heard was a faint meowing sound from Melda.

And the triumphant growls of four demons towering over them. She could imagine the expressions on their faces; glee and malice at their victory. Luthien closed her eyes, wishing for the last thing she saw to be Melda instead of some hideous warp-spawn.

"Goodbye, father…mother…Arie…May we meet again under the embrace of Ynnead…," prayed Luthien as she continued to hold on to Melda and waited for death to arrive. At least they would die together.

An ear-splitting crack rang through the forest followed by the screams of demons. Two more came in rapid succession and more screams resulted until only silence remained. Luthien did not dare open her eyes and she was too consumed with guilt and anguish over Melda's condition to focus on her powers. Thus she was surprised to hear heavy footsteps coming towards her and hearing a voice.

Spoken in some form of Gothic; the language of the mon-keigh.

"Are you alright?"

* * *

**Chapter 7! despite some rather discouraging comments, i decide that id still continue to write. thank you all the same for ur input. positive or negative reviews should aim to make better stories. im sorry i can't drastically change the storyline by removing the halo component but i do hope i can change ur minds someday. thank you Ryan for ur words. u noe who u are:)**

**in addition i understand the shortness of my preceeding chapters. hopefully this one has been a satisfying read. once again thank you all who read and please review because as u can see i do take ur suggestions and opinions seriously.**

**until the next update!**

**-spartan585**


	8. Chapter 8 Rescue and Refuge

Lou had seen more than his share of strange things throughout the Human-Covenant War but this was something definitely new. They were like creatures straight from his worst nightmare; horned demons like in those old biblical movies where these same creatures would fight against angels and stuff. Just looking at them was enough to make Lou wet his pants. The fear was not limited, however, to their grotesque forms. It was also evoked in a much subtler way; these creatures contain within them a malevolent form of evil that the Covenant aliens did not possess. It was much more bestial. More debased.

Just...evil.

And a group of them were closing in onto a huddling woman holding a bloody bundle of fur not far from his position.

Letting his instincts work their magic, Lou took aim at the first creature he saw in the head and squeezed the trigger. A resounding crack reverberated through the forest as the SABOT round tore through flesh and brain matter. The beast died noisily, emitting a piercing scream as half its head was blown apart. What happened next was mind-boggling to say the least to the young soldier; as the creature died, a portal of some sort seemed to open up right from the ground and swallowed it. As the carcass disappeared, a crimson flame engulfed it until nothing remained of the thing's existence.

Lou's battle reflexes did not allow such a phenomena distract him for too long, displacing several more shots into the remaining creatures until all of them were (hopefully) destroyed. Once he was satisfied that the area was free of any immediate danger, he got out of his concealed position and approached the woman. The distance covered was not far considering that the place was a forest and Lou brisk walked the roughly fifty meters in a matter of seconds.

"What the…"

Words failed Lou when he got nearer and got himself a better view of the woman. She looked human enough from a distance but on getting a closer look at her physical features, the trooper received a big shock. Simply put, the 'girl' was not human; while her physique pointed out her obvious gender and she did have a lot of redeeming humanoid features, her clothes were very strange looking and seemed to be made of a material unlike anything he had seen before especially the hooded cloak she was wearing which shimmered with the sunlight causing a camouflage effect. But what really got his attention were the long and pointed ears peeking out from beneath her albino blond hair. The more Lou looked, the more apparent how inhuman the girl really was. The strangest thing was, while other beings like the various aliens of the Covenant and the creatures he destroyed a moment ago were ugly and repulsive in nature and looks, Lou did not the feel the same towards the creature huddling helplessly almost at his feet.

She was different.

The female humanoid was crying softly, either from fear or sorrow, as she held a sort of animal in her arms, cradling it like a baby. The animal itself was in a grievous state of injury. Its small frame shook and trembled as it laboured with each breath it took. Occasionally, it would let out a pained whimper which Lou could not help but feel a tinge of pity for despite his duty as a soldier. Even though he had no idea whether they would be a threat, he felt that it would be a risk well taken. Taking a deep breath, the trooper decided to try to communicate with the female humanoid.

"Are you alright?" asked the young man hesitantly.

In all honesty, Lou did not think that it was going to work. What were the odds that an alien in the middle of nowhere would understand English anyway? The creature's reaction was expected; raising her head to look at him, he noticed that her eyes were red. Not from crying but her irises were literally a bright red in colour. Strangely, the highly unusual discovery did not frighten or faze Lou. Somehow, he was not threatened by the female huddling in front of him. Instead, an almost overpowering need to protect her bubbled in his chest.

The alien's eyes widened in fear and shock as soon as they rested on his rifle letting unshed tears to cascade down her impossibly fair cheeks. Clutching the wounded animal even tighter to her chest, she shrunk even further away from the trooper with her back facing him as she tried to protect the bloody bundle she was carrying.

Lou could not help but feel even sorrier at her plight. Whatever that creature was, it meant a lot to her. She had already demonstrated her desire to protect it with her life if she needed to.

"Hey, hey…," soothed Lou as he tried to reach out to the alien female. Slinging his rifle, he reached out a hand to her. "Relax…um, miss. Those…things are gone. You're safe now. I won't hurt 'ya. I promise."

Seeing no other response besides some more frightened trembling, Lou tried again.

"Look…see? No gun. No 'boom-boom'," said the young soldier again as he waved his two gloved hands in emphasis. Lou figured that his use of onomatopoeia could somehow enable the female to understand his intentions.

"Go…go…away."

Eyes widening behind his helmet visor, Lou froze; scarcely believing what he had heard the alien say.

_**She can speak English?**_

Encouraged by the breakthrough, he tried again to reach out to her. Unfortunately, all it did was to agitate the girl (he decided to stop thinking of her as an 'it') even further. With a terrified yelp, the girl lashed out her hand at him. From her fingertips, a bubble of 'air' materialized. Lou did not really know what it was but the bubble was transparent and merely distorted the reflection of the surroundings. Before he could react, the bubble impacted his body, knocking the soldier off his feet.

"Whoa!"

Landing heavily onto his back, Lou felt the air knocked out of him. Craning his neck, he caught side of the strange girl struggling back onto her feet before running away. In her panic, she left behind an intricate staff and an elegant looking long knife on the ground. Getting up, Lou grabbed the items before starting off in pursuit of the girl.

* * *

Luthien stood corrected. If the stories she had heard from the tribe were to be believed, the mon-keigh from the Imperium of Man was to be feared even more than the hated minions of the Ruinous Powers. Unlike the capricious and calculating evil of Chaos, the followers of the Emperor of Mankind were brutish and uncompromising in their zeal to wipe out all non-humans off the face of the galaxy. In the eyes of that barbaric race, her only crime was her mere existance. It did not end there, her father had regalled her and Aradan of his off-world exploits in his youth. Stories of the legions of man and their immense power and numbers rivalled only by that of the orks. Whole planets destroyed by the might of their inexhaustible armies and war machines. The thoughts chilled the young eldar to the very core of her being considering that one stood in front of her right now with a powerful projectile weapon in his hands. The daemons had all been destroyed by this human alone. He must be a great warrior of his species…

Luthien let out a frightened gasp at the thought. A space marine. One of the most uncompromising and brutal soldiers in the Imperium's immense arsenal. The only consolation being that he looked a lot smaller than what the eldar maiden had anticipated.

Melda's pained whimper against her bosom reminded Luthien of the precariousness of her situation. Out of the pan and into the fire, this was turning out to be a day like no other in the life of Luthien Garmilos. All she could do was to scuttle away even further from the mon-keigh. It was a pathetic attempt at self-preservation and her father and brother would probably snort their noses in intense disapproval but at the moment, Luthien did not care. Gone from her mind was the training that she had learnt for decades to defend herself. Her fight with the daemons from the warp had weakened her inexperienced mind and body and she doubt that she could survive an encounter with one of the Imperium's finest even if she was not in such a fatigued state.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the mon-keigh sling his weapon. He must be an especially cruel one to want to kill his prey with his bare hands. The thought was enough to send Luthien's frame trembling in unadulterated fear. She heard the mon-keigh speak to her again giving her his word that he would not harm her.

The word of a killing machine.

Indeed.

"…see? No gun. No 'boom-boom'."

Was the mon-keigh really that sadistic? Talking to her now like a child? By Khaine, of course she knew what a gun was. There was no need for such insults but then again, only a human would resort to such undignified behavior. Gloating on how he was going to kill her.

Inwardly Luthien cursed herself for her weakness. Adversity had forced her to finally show her true colours; that of an immature youngling. The tribe was right about her. Overeager. Prepubescent. And now she was going to pay the ultimate price for a youthful foolishness. To make matters worse, she had dragged poor Melda along with her.

Melda.

_**No.**_

Summoning up a shaky amount of courage, the eldar maiden stammered out a threat.

"Go…go…away."

Even she did not believe that the words carried any weight but when the mon-keigh took another step towards her, panic turned to hysteria. Without thinking, she held out a hand to ward him off while the other was still occupied holding Melda. Her powers lashed out at the mon-keigh in reflex, throwing him onto the ground which caused him to shout in surprise. Not letting such a golden opportunity to go to waste, Luthien scrambled to her feet causing Melda to whimper again in pain. Running as fast as her legs would allow her, Luthien headed in a random direction, praying to Isha that she would run into one of the tribes' sentinels. She was desperate enough to hope that Aradan was among them.

"Hold on, Melda. I will save you, _nîn elen_. Please…just hold on," whispered Luthien as she ran. With her keen hearing, she could hear the mon-keigh in pursuit, shouting in that inane language of his for her to stop. Despite the fact that he was slowed by his clumsiness and the obstacle-like foliage, the eldar herself was hampered by the weight in her arms. Furthermore, she could not move too robustly in the fear that her gyrinx's injuries would be made worse.

With too much on her mind and looking back repeatedly at her pursuer, she did not see the low hanging branch until it was too late. A sharp smack right into her face stopped her dead in her tracks and unceremoniously onto the ground, hitting her head on a half buried stone. Luckily the stone was not sharp or jagged but it was still a hard impact. Stunned and losing consciousness, Luthien groped around for Melda.

"Melda…Melda…," were her only words as darkness overtook her.

* * *

"Thank god for branches," panted Lou as he finally caught up with the fleeing girl. He was just about to give her a snide remark when he caught sight of her unconscious state and her bleeding head. A good distance away laid the creature. She must have accidently flung it in her fall. Looking even more terrible, the creature was in a dire state. It was not going to survive the night if nothing was done to treat its injuries immediately.

This was not looking too good. The entire area was a deathtrap; there might be more of those creatures lurking about and there was no way of knowing whether there was any place to get help. For now, two lives lay in the hands of the young soldier and he was not equipped to handle a serious medical situation. Kneeling down beside the unconscious girl, Lou assessed her injuries; besides a rather nasty bump on her head which came into contact with the stone, there seemed to be no other serious injuries. He hoped that she did not suffer a concussion too.

After carefully wrapping her head with some bandages from his first aid kit, he propped her head on a small utility pouch as a pillow before turning his attention to the small creature which the girl seemed to hold most dear.

The creature was in a very bad state; clumps of fur had been literally torn from its body, exposing deep lacerations and gashes inflicted by the talons and teeth of the daemons attacking it. In addition, its body looked misshapen from the numerous bruises dotting its entire body where many had already started swelling due to the lateness of treatment. From the awkward angle, it was obvious that both front paws were broken. Amazingly, the creature was strong enough to give a reaction when Lou ran a gloved hand through its blood-matted fur. Whimpering softly, it did not resist as the trooper slowly and carefully began treating its wounds as best as he could.

Lou silently marveled at the creature's staunch will to live. No wonder its mistress had been so protective of it. He doubted that the cat-like animal was regarded as a mere pet.

"Hey…easy there, buddy. You're gonna be alright," soothed the soldier whenever the creature was awakened from any discomfort coming from his treatment especially when he used the biofoam. The substance hardened around the shattered bone and the creature squirmed a bit in pain.

Lou never thought he would make a good veterinarian but he guessed that he did a pretty good job once he tightened the last knot on the splint supporting one of the cat's paws. It definitely stood a better chance of lasting the night now. Looking at the still unconscious girl, Lou decided that their current location was too exposed and indefensible to remain for long. He had to relocate them to a safer location.

He didn't know how he did it but he definitely had to thank his training instructors for torturing the fitness in him. This was something only ODST training could do for you; carrying an incapacitated girl in your arms for a half an hour with a larger than normal field pack and weapon with an equally injured feline-like creature balanced carefully on the field pack. The cave that he trudged into was a textbook example of an easily defensible position being formed out of the side of a cliff and a small clearing in front of its opening providing excellent fields of fire. In addition, there were several large boulders as tall as his waist outside the entrance which served as satisfactory obstacles.

Placing his two charges carefully onto the clammy ground, Lou put down his equipment and field pack leaving his weapons and ammunition. Activating his helmet mounted torch, he proceeded to explore the interior of the cave to ensure there were no hostile inhabitants.

The cave was surprisingly small, facing a dead end less than twenty five meters after some walking. It was definitely a natural formation. The walls were lined with stalagmites and stalactites which glittered from the blinding light of the torch and small rodent-like creatures darted about as they tried to escape the illuminant intruder. Deciding nothing bigger or more dangerous than these animals currently inhabit the cave at the moment, Lou returned to his two charges. They were just as he had left them, resting peacefully just before the mouth of the cave looking no better than they did but still no worse for wear either which was a relief.

The world outside was looking a bit more ominous as the day was nearing its end. It did not help the atmosphere any better with the slipspace tear in the sky, maintaining an eerie vigil over the world below it, occasionally lashing out at it with a bolt of lightning or two with a deep roar like a rebuking disciplinarian.

Considering the fragile state of the girl and her companion, Lou decided to risk a small fire to keep them warm for the night as he did not have anything that could provide a similar substitute. His SOEIV did not have a thermal blanket considering the nature and premise of his intended mission.

"Guess we ain't that prepared all the time," mumbled Lou as he tended the fire. At the same time, his eyes were constantly trained at the vast expense of darkness which was the forest. The young soldier was tempted to activate his image intensifier but he knew he needed the batteries for another day. There was no telling how long he was going to stay on this world and he wanted his equipment to keep functioning for as long as possible. The same goes for his weapons. Especially his weapons.

Speaking of equipment, his eyes rested on the staff and knife that the girl had left in her panic. They were intricately crafted and without doubt were dangerous as well as beautiful to behold. His hands wandered to the nearer of the two; the long knife. As he picked up the weapon, Lou could not help but marvel at its craftsmanship. It was perfectly balanced too. The blade was probably hollow and filled with mercury or something.

He was just taking off his tactical helmet to get some fresh air for the first time and to inspect the object further when he heard a shuffling sound behind him. It was the girl and she was wide awake, looking at him wearily.

* * *

**Chapter 8! This is to set the stage for the chemistry between the two. i hope it doesn't sound too boring:) rest assured that daemons will be making an appearance soon and so will other more unfavourable 'guests'. please read and tell me what u guys think. ur feedback is invluable to me. thank you all for reading. until the next update.**

**i decide to set up a mailbag to answer common reader opinions and also a little appreciation to those who reviewed. without further ado:**

**1) Gurab- _thank you for your kind words. yes i do admit that in the beginning updates were scandalously infrequent but i hope to rectify it:) rest assured more W40k races will appear later on._**

**2) jesse swift- _there were some...unfavourable comments but like i said in the previous chapter's a/n i hope opinions will change. i appreciate ur support. it really means a lot thank you. the warp rift gives daemonic entities the abiility to cross over thus explaining their presence. i try to keep my material canon. _**

**3) lazylegionspark- _haha i actualy re read that bit. u see i envisioned them as khornate daemons so they appeared in numbers of eight. so 1 was incinerated. 1 had a blade down its shoulders. 1 was gutted with a knife and 1 tried to attack from behind. luthien wrongly counted 3 more when there shd have been 4. i hope that clarifies things:)_**

**4) meh XD- _thank you. keep reading then:)_**

**5) anon- _thank you very much_**

**6) Cougar2k2- _haha me too!;)_**

**7) TheObserver 12- _Thanks for the suggestion. i intend to do something like that. itd also help for the chemistry between the two to flow._**

**8) Imperial warlord- _noted and thank you:)_**

**9) MCPOAlucard- _haha thanks for the confidence. ill try my best to live up to ur expectations:)_**


	9. Chapter 9 Fireside Chats

She stared at the mon-keigh with fear, anxiety and confusion.

Fear after seeing Melda's unconscious form at an uncomfortable proximity to the mon-keigh and seeing him holding her battle knife in his hands.

Anxiety from her continued existence in the plane of the living at the hands of this supposed mortal enemy of her people by an infinite parsec.

And confusion at the fact that she had the gall to find herself lingering a microsecond more than was necessary at the mon-keigh's un-helmeted face. In her defense, it was not an unpleasant sight; true, he possessed the same unrefined and barbaric facial features signature of his kind but it was more a 'savage warrior' feel to it with his unkempt dirty blond hair and the beginnings of a stubble forming on his face giving off a rather appealing 5 o'clock shadow.

Eyes widening, Luthien was glad that the miniscule amount of light from the fire hid the vulnerability of her loosely controlled emotions. This would not do; thinking of such impure thoughts. She should be ashamed of herself. What would her father think? What about her mother? Aradan? He would probably be standing behind their parents with that annoying smirk of his.

Mentally shaking some sense back into herself, Luthien struggled to focus on the predicament at hand; at least she believed that it was a predicament. She was a prisoner without question along with Melda of the mon-keigh currently sitting at the far side of the fire and fiddling with her precious knife. The sheer audacity of such a primitive creature even touching the elegant blade let alone holding it was infuriating to say the least.

And her staff.

Her staff was beside the human and lay on the ground untouched. Luthien began to ponder her choices; she could use telekinesis to draw the staff to her and with her powers attuned, dispose of this meddling human. Or she could instead rip the blade from his hands, hopefully cutting him in the process and finishing him off in a manner that would make even the legendary _Asurya,_ Jain Zar, nod in approval. Or she would indulge him with mercy by merely using her powers to blind him with dust from the earth before making a daring escape with Melda.

Nonetheless, as soon as the thoughts came, they vanished. She was not sure if her powers were still available to her at the moment. It would actually have been sweet relief if they were not; her powers were dangerous if she could not control them. It was a well-known fact that she had been gifted with an extraordinary psychic potential. There were rumours among the tribe that she could be the focus of an important prophecy. Then again, they were just that; rumours. What is a definite fact is that she is lying on the ground incapacitated with a hostile entity.

And the thrice-cursed mon-keigh was holding and caressing her precious knife like it was already his.

Her annoyance with the mon-keigh must have grown to such an extent that it became a tangible manifestation because his eyes soon wandered from her battle knife to her. His eyes widened in brief surprise upon meeting her gaze and his actions grew sheepish like a youngling caught in the midst of a prank. Then again, the eldar were an ancient people compared to the brutish mon-keigh primates. Her ancestors ruled the stars during the time that his were crawling on their bellies out of the sea.

There was a brief silence as the battlefield landscape began to change once more.

"Hello."

* * *

Lou tried again.

"Um…hi?"

Still, all he got was the same hateful stare from the pointy-eared girl as she continued her weary vigil of his every movement. He figured that she did not take to kindly the fact that he was snooping around with her belongings. Hastily but respectfully, the young soldier placed the knife on the ground at what he hoped was a satisfactory distance away from him.

"Sorry for touching your stuff. I was curious and they looked very…nice," admitted Lou as he tried to defend his actions.

The girl remained silent and her expression did not change. It was as though she was trying to burn a hole through him with her eyes. Her sharp features only accentuated her hostile vibe.

The soft rustling of fur immediately diverted both their attentions to the injured creature which had been lying beside the girl.

"Melda!"

The girl moved quickly to embrace the feline which had become amazingly conscious. Nonetheless, it was clearly still in a weakened state. It mewed softly as the girl lovingly caressed its fur; never minding that parts of the animal which were not covered in bandages were caked in dried blood. The girl seemed to forget about Lou for a moment as she continued to kiss and caress the injured feline in her arms whilst talking to it softly in an unknown language. The amount of affection being shown towards the creature was touching to say the least; it was like talking to an infant.

Lou was apprehensive about interrupting the tender moment between the two but he needed answers. Clearing his throat, he noted how fast the girl's features hardened as her attention returned to him. It almost made him cringe inside. Almost.

"Um, is your pet alright?" asked Lou in an effort to be diplomatic.

"Melda is NOT my pet, mon-keigh. She is my companion and my friend," snapped the girl, her eyes narrowed dangerously enough for Lou to feel threatened despite her incapacitated state.

Startled, Lou waved his hands weakly in a defensive gesture.

"Okay, okay…calm down. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

The girl's fierce expression did not waver but at least she was not attempting anything homicidal. Not with the feline still in her arms. The cold war between them lasted for a few minutes until the silence was broken by the quiet mewling of the creature. It wriggled slightly as it snuggled a bit more into the girl's bosom to enjoy more of her body heat. Hushing the creature, the girl gently rocked it a bit more to lull it back to sleep. Once done, she sighed quietly before turning her attention to Lou.

"Mon-keigh."

Lou had long ago deduced that '_mon-kay_' referred to him.

"Yeah?"

"I…require some aid," said the girl before becoming silent. This was clearly a difficult thing to do for her, "Could you…spare us some water?"

"Sure, no problem," replied the soldier as he unhooked his canteen and unscrewed the opening before passing it to her. The girl looked surprise at first before reaching out a slender arm to receive the canteen.

"Thank you."

Lou watched as she slowly tilted the canteen towards the creature's mouth which instinctively lapped at the water gathered at the mouth of the canteen. It drank slowly but thirstily, making quiet lapping sounds as it slaked its thirst. Once done, the girl made to hand the canteen back to Lou but he politely refused.

"It's okay, miss. You look like you need it more than I do. Besides, I have another bag I can drink from," said Lou as he pointed towards the intergrated water bag on his battle vest.

The girl's look of astonishment returned when she heard that. It gradually contorted into a look of confusion. Then a tiny smile graced her delicate face.

Lou swore he had never seen a more beautiful sight.

"You have my thanks...human."

* * *

Luthien groaned inwardly. Not only had she risked a smile at the mon-keigh, she actually felt compelled to thank him not once but twice. This was a blow to the pride of the eldar race for sure. This was definitely not what a normal eldar would do. Then again, Luthien was never a 'normal' eldar to begin with. Now that she thought about it, she was always too restless and adventurous even amongst the eldar youth of her tribe. While the other maidens would be learning domestic skills and utilizing their psychic abilities on the healing arts, she was sneaking off with Melian to observe Aradan and the other warrior initiates training their martial skills.

Now she wished that she had at least paid a little more attention in learning how to use her powers to heal. She wasn't sure where to begin; her mother had always told her that a seer's abilities were limited by their imagination. Then again, she did not have her mother's millennia years of experience either. To make things worse, she herself was incapacitated. For the first time in Luthien's relatively short life, she felt helpless.

"How is…she?"

Looking up, Luthien beheld the mon-keigh with a distracted look. Looking down at Melda, she stroked her fur slowly, fighting the urge to sigh. It would not do to show any form of non-hostile emotion to the enemy. He could use it to his advantage.

"Melda is fine."

The human raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing her words. Nonetheless, he held his tongue and did not pursue the matter further. Things got quieter around the small fire; the silence occasionally broken by Melda's whimpers and fidgeting. The silence began to grow awkward as the two tried their very best to mind their own business which was very hard indeed considering that their fates, whether they like it or not, were very much intertwined. Luthien continued to observe the human with a jaundiced eye. At first, he kept himself busy by checking the equipment strapped to his being; as weary as she was towards her enemy, Luthien found it hard to suppress her immense curiosity as she observed the various objects the mon-keigh removed and re-attached to his vest or put inside the many pouches adorning it.

First, there was ammunition packed into large, rectangular metal magazines.

This was followed by more ammunition but this ones were of a different type packed into long, translucent magazines.

Then, there were small cuboid-shaped packages with red crosses on them. Several more small bags and packages followed.

And most interestingly, a multipurpose tool that consisted of several unusual tools she had never seen before.

It was all very strange to Luthien. Her people used tools and equipment made from the land. Anything else that required a higher degree of resilence were crafted by the tribe's bonesingers out of wraithbone. Humans, she had been told, were not psychically attuned yet to produce wraithebone. Instead they use their technology to make primitive yet strong and durable materials like plasteel and ceramite. Looking at the mon-keigh working in front of her was like looking through a window into a whole new world, albeit a small one.

"You look interested."

Eyes widening at being caught, Luthien hurriedly resumed her cold persona and looked elsewhere while fighting to hide the blush on her face.

"I'm just surprised you have something more than sticks and stones in that primitive battle dress of yours," scoffed Luthien as she tried to hide her embarrassment.

The human merely chuckled as he pat his rifle that lay on the ground beside him.

"Well, this 'stick' right here did its job pretty well, don't you think?" he retorted playfully.

Luthien caught the veiled jab and merely gave a vindictive huff which only made the human chuckle some more. She tried to change the subject.

"The fire would alert our enemies to our presence, mon-keigh."

The human merely raised his head to look at her.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that."

"So why did you risk it?"

Pursing his lips in silent contemplation, he finally answered with a shrug.

"You were hurt," he said simply. "And none of us have a thick enough blanket to keep you warm."

The young eldar scowled at the impertinence.

"You fool; your so-called 'good' deed has probably doomed the three of us!"

"Hey now wait just a min-…"

"For what? For more daemons to descend upon us? Or maybe a fallen astartes or two?"

"A what and a what? Lady, you gotta calm yourself down."

"I am calm!"

"And doing a hell of a job at it."

"Hell is just a word, mon-keigh. The reality is beyond anything your primitive mind can comprehend."

"Alright, that's enough! What in god's name are you talking about? Who are you? What were those things that attacked you and your furry friend? What daemons? What is an arse-tart? And where the hell am I?"

"Not yet…but close enough."

"Will you stop with all the gloomy talk?"

"You sound much more stupid than I anticipated a mon-keigh would."

"Well considering I just dropped out of the sky onto some alien world that I've never seen before, I think I'm doing a pretty good job keeping us alive so far."

The two glared at each other for a good thirty seconds until the tension was broken by Melda's whimpering. Sighing, the human ran a hand through his hair.

"Her bandages need changing. I can help with that."

Luthien scowled. There was absolutely no way he was getting his hands on Melda. The human was sensitive enough to read her immense displeasure at his offer.

"Look, I know we're not on best terms right now but I assure you that I mean you know harm. Think about it; if I wanted to hurt either of you, I would have done so already, wouldn't I?"

He had a point. Grudgingly, Luthien warily handed the wounded feline to him. Already, she missed the comforting warmth of Melda's fur and the psychic bond they shared decreased noticeably despite their relative proximity.

"If you hurt her, you'll pay," threatened Luthien as she showed her fiercest glare to the soldier.

It was absolutely inappropriate but Lou had to admit that the girl looked cute as she tried so hard to appear intimidating. It did not help that her delicate features were so demure and any frown that marred them only seemed to make her look like some teenage girl with a tantrum. Nonetheless, the young soldier was tactful enough to keep that opinion strictly to himself. She seemed pissed just knowing he existed.

Retrieving his first aid kit, Lou removed a roll of bandages and some antiseptic ointment. After taking off his gloves, he proceeded to remove the bandages covering the wounded feline.

"Ouch!"

Apparently, the alien creature did not take too kindly that a foreign hand was tending to its welfare. Despite its incapacitated state, the feline managed to nip the tip of Lou's ungloved hand, which while not enough to draw blood, stung enough. Scowling at the creature, Lou managed to catch sight of a slight smirk appearing on the girl's face as she witnessed the altercation from his peripheral vision. Once he turned his face fully towards her though, the same stern expression returned.

Grumbling softly to himself, Lou attempted again to change the bandages only to withdraw another time from a more determined bite followed by a faint growl.

"Could you help me, please?" asked an exasperated Lou to the girl who was clearly enjoying seeing his discomfort.

With a light chuckle (which sounded like little bells chiming), the girl moved closer to Lou and gingerly took the feline into her arms. She calmed the creature down with soft words and shushing sounds before addressing Lou.

"Give me that dressing."

In all, it took less than ten minutes to get the job done. Melda, as the feline was named, was wrapped up cleanly in a fresh roll of bandages and her broken limbs were fastened securely onto splints. It would not consume any of the emergency rations that Lou offered it, preferring instead to eat some dried fruits given to her by her mistress. It did however drink the water from the bottle given to her mistress by Lou before falling back to sleep on her mistress's lap.

As the two individuals settled back to their status quo at opposite ends of the fire, the quietness of the night slowly settled down. Lou was tired; in fact he was exhausted. Yet he could not sleep. Not in this alien environment and definitely not with an alien girl who did not actually like him very much. Not forgetting those frightful beings he shot just now. There might be more and he needed to be ready at all times.

"So…what do I call you?" asked Lou as he tried to make small talk.

The girl did not answer and the young man was beginning to take a bite out of his rations when a soft voice replied.

"Luthien."

"Um, excuse me?"

"My name is Luthien Garmilos, mon-keigh. You may call me Luthien," said the girl as she looked away from the fire towards the blackness of the forest outside the cave.

"Luthien," Lou repeated. A tiny grin appeared on his face.

_**That's a nice name.**_

"My name's Lou."

* * *

_**Sweet Isha…what has come over me?**_

Luthien hoped that the low light hid the blush currently blooming on her face. Currently it was the only thing that was giving away her embarrassment of revealing her maiden name. The sheer audacity; it was like she could not control herself in his presence, this infuriating human.

And what kind of primitive name is 'Lou' anyway; it sounded like a synonym for a toilet.

Drawing a quiet breath, Luthien turned to look at Lou, who had put on his helmet to use its night-vision capability. Understanding that he was busy, the female eldar did not bother him, instead leaning back against a small boulder for a bit of comfort. Like any respectable Exodite eldar, Luthien was acclimatized for the outdoors. Her skills in field craft, while not exceptional, was satisfactory enough to allow her to survive on her own. At the moment however, she was placing her life as well as Melda's in the hands of this human; a species which were mortal enemies to hers. The sheer irrationality of it all was enough to make her highly sensitive mind dizzy just pondering about it.

"Lou."

Said Luthien absent-mindedly, almost like trying it on for size.

The human looked at her upon hearing her speak his name. Luthien could feel her blush becoming bigger. Turning away, she distracted herself by looking towards the dark forest. Her keen eldar sight made it easier to pierce the darkness. She could see many things in the dark which feeble mon-keigh eyes could not unaided.

The sight did not appease her.

The forest exhibited almost no fauna whatsoever. Where nocturnal creatures would normally prowl in search of food or drawn to the light of their small fire, Luthien could see virtually nothing scampering about in the dark undergrowth.

"Is this normal on your planet?" asked Lou.

"What is?"

"There's nothing moving out there; no animals…no birds…not even insects…just trees and the wind," replied Lou as he removed his helmet. "It's disturbing."

"It is disturbing," Luthien agreed, "At least they're reacting more rationally towards this Chaos incursion than I did."

She added with a tinge of bitterness that did not go unnoticed by the young human.

"Chaos incursion…what's that?" asked Lou, changing the topic.

Luthien looked at him with an incredulous look on her face.

"Are you that ignorant?"

Offended, Lou frowned.

"Hey, I just got here. The least you can do is fill me in."

"This is ridiculous; how can a human like you not know of the Ruinous Powers? It is all you debauched species know!"

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, lady, but I'm not from around here."

"Your kind never is; you are a race of barbarians and invaders. This world has always belonged to the children of Isha. We seeded this world from a lump of cold rock into a verdant paradise. You seek to subjugate it and turn it into a mere dominion, a testament to your false grandiose, one that died along with your emperor. Now, Chaos has its sights on it as well."

"Alright, humour me; what is this Chaos, just to refresh my memory," retorted Lou sarcastically.

"Chaos is the ultimate enemy; evil given form. They are also known by other names, for example to us Eldar, we call them the Ruinous Powers," intoned Luthien solemnly.

"'Ruinous Powers'," repeated Lou. That didn't sound pleasant at all.

"Self-explanatory, human!" snapped Luthien, annoyed.

"Sounds bad."

Luthien found out that night that she could growl quite well.

"Those things I killed; they're daemons right?"

"Yes, but Chaos manifests itself in many other forms as well. What you encountered was but the tiniest tip of an iceberg. There are so many things worse that Chaos have in store for you."

Luthien watched Lou carefully as he grew silent, pondering what he had been told.

"You know, where I came from we humans are fighting a war with this group of aliens called the Covenant. They look ugly enough but not that scary. Those daemons I saw; now those were scary. They're like one of those demons from hell. Followers of Satan or something."

He must have seen the confused look on her face because he began to clarify his words.

"Um, we humans practise religion and stuff. You know, like god and his angels, I mean...we used to. I don't know anyone who's practising anything right now."

"You are faithless?"

"Well, yeah but not exactly. I mean most of us do believe that there's some higher being out there making sure the universe runs smoothly. I can name a few I heard in school...um, there was Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Those three were the most important religions we humans had for a long time. But they're different too. I don't know how but I think they all teach us to be good people and do good things. It's just that some people choose to focus on the differences rather than the similarities."

Now Luthien was really confused; why was this human talking about religion all of a sudden? And shouldn't he be bragging about his beloved God-Emperor instead of lamenting about religions from the past?

"What about your emperor, human?"

The human looked confuse.

"What emperor? I don't have no emperor," he said.

Warning bells rang in Luthien's head. There were only two kinds of human in existance; those that worship the emperor and those that do not.

_**Isha, protect me..he's a follower of Chaos!**_

* * *

"Turn of those blasted klaxons now!" yelled Captain Darius Hakeem to his crew as the bridge of the Dauntless-class cruiser _Reconciliation _tried to maintain a cohesive atmosphere despite the confusion of their current predicament.

"Sister Ludmilla, you have command of our armed forces; make sure nothing got in the ship!"

"Yes, captain."

Turning to his chief navigator, Captain Hakeem bellowed.

"What in the Emperor's name happened? One moment we were in the warp with the fleet and the next, we're yanked back into realspace with no idea where we are, no idea what we're dealing with and no way to call for help!"

He motioned to the smoking corpse of the vessel's sole astropath.

"Well?"

"I-I have no idea, milord," stammered the navigator Run Haakon.

"Well you had better find an answer soon, Haakon; our lives depend on it," murmured the mustachioed captain darkly.

"Although I am unsure of what caused this predicament, milord, I suspect that it has to do with that warp rift," said the navigator as he pointed a bony finger towards the rift convulsing above a small verdant world.

"A hypothesis simple enough for me to form on my own, navigator," retorted the captain, unamused. What I need to know now is there a way to contact the Imperium in any way?"

"I am sorry, milord. My skills are limited to traversing the perils of the warp. But with the ship incapacitated and our astropath dead, I cannot discern our location in this galaxy. I'm afraid we're virtually marooned in this system, wherever it is."

Captain Hakeem could only close his eyes as the information began to sink in. His brows furrowed with frustration and fear. The _Reconciliation _had been part of a small imperial relief mission to pick up refugees from a sanctuary zone somewhere in the Ultima Segmentum. As such, it was mostly filled with sisters from the Order of Serenity of the Orders Hospitaller and medical servitors. All the ship had for its protection is its standard armament together with an accompanying armed detail comprising a single squad of battle sisters from the Order of the Sacred Rose and a company of Hyspasists from the Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii; all were armed only with light weapons and very little heavy equipment. As such, it was not equipped to operate as an independent military entity at the moment and thus would find itself vulnerable against a determined assault by raiders or worse.

"How's my ship?" demanded Captain Hakeem from a diagnostics servitor.

"Fire control for the main Lance cannons is currently offline. Our tech priests are currently performing the proper blessed rituals necessary to appease their machine spirits. We should get them functioning again in…3 standard hours, bless thee Omnissiah," droned a servitor.

"However, our secondary armaments are fully functional as they require manual loading to operate rather than the blessed aid of machine spirits. Praise thee our Emperor's will be done."

"Void shields are currently holding at 56.14% efficiency. Energy had to be diverted to maintaining the Gellar Field when we were wrenched out of the Empyrean. All thanks to thou protective gaze, Omnissiah."

"Life support systems holding at 78.34% efficiency. Hull breaches detected in decks 5 through 15. Damage minimal. The Emperor protects."

"How much is 'minimal'?" demanded the captain.

The servitor's answer was swift, cold and professional.

"Bio-auspexes detected 480 diminished life-forces and a further 720 following suit. They will die in the next 10 minutes from sudden decompression or extreme cold unless immediate help is rendered. From thee we came and to thou sacrament throne we return, blessed Emperor."

Captain Hakeem knew that it was simply not possible to help those wretched souls trapped in the breached decks. He was having trouble keeping the ship together as it is.

"Any signs of demonic infestation?"

"None detected, milord, praise be to ye Omnissiah."

"Praise…praise…," replied Captain Hakeem absent-mindedly. Looking around the bridge, he realized that the most important thing is to get the ship to combat ready status as well as finding where in the galaxy they are and to contact the imperium as soon as possible.

"Number 2, what of this planet before us?"

"Since we're in the dark, the machine spirits cannot discern the name of this planet or any prior information. What we can see is that it fits the description of an agri-world."

"I see…any intelligent life?"

"Humans, milord?"

"Or xenos."

"Checking, milord...," said the executive officer as he checked the reports. "Auspices results are distorted due to interference from the warp rift. However, I can discern numerous settlements dotting the main land mass of the planet. None of them seem bigger than a standard sized imperial outpost, though."

"Any idea of their origins?"

"All communications except our intra-ship systems are down. Still I'd recommend against hailing those settlements, milord; they could be hostile xenos."

"Or they could be loyal imperium settlers," murmured the captain. "We're not here to start a war, Number 2. Even if they are hostile, we're not equipped to engage them decisively given our available forces. Their dispersed locations make any attempt to launch an invasion a costly one."

He continued.

"Still, I feel that it would be prudent to establish a beachhead on the planet. We'll need to find sites suitable for mining activity for obtaining the necessary materials to facilitate repairs. Furthermore, the decentralized nature of the indigeneous settlements would allow us a better defensible position from any form of hostility."

"Sounds like a plan, captain. According to my preliminary surveys, this is the best location so far; it is situated in a valley with only a single entrance between two mountain ridges effectively creating a strategic bottleneck," said the executive officer amidst the backdrop of a recently re-operable hologram image.

"And no chance of escape if an enemy was to breach it; our backs will be to the mountain walls," muttered Capatain Hakeem.

"Our transports would have evacuated all essential personnel and our forces, though limited, are highly trained enough to be able to sustain an effective resistance."

"You've got a point, number 2; good work," praised the captain. He turned to his military commander. Her weathered features, though weary and hardened from years of service still retained vestiges of a simple beauty. "Sister Ludmilla, what is the status of my ship's security?"

"The _Reconcilation_ has not been breached, captain. With the exception of a few hysterical crew members, there was nothing my sisters and the tech-guard could not handle."

Captain Hakeem nodded. Pointing to the stipulated site of the beachhead, he addressed the battle sister.

"Good, get your squad and two teams of tech-guard planetside on this location to secure a perimeter and establish a beachhead, building servitors and techpriests will follow suit once you've confirmed the security of the site."

"Yes, captain."

"Good, the valkyries are being prepped as we speak. You will leave the ship in 15 minutes."

"With good speed, captain, the Emperor protects," said the battle sister before saluting the captain and leaving the bridge.

With a sigh, Captain Hakeem returned his attention back to assessing the _R__econciliation_. He kept a watchful glance at the warp rift visible through the ship's starboard side. The anomaly continued to writhe and struggle like an animal trapped in a sack. Its maw spewing the occasional lightning and flares of warp matter; as long as that was all it did, Captain Hakeem could care less. He doubted though; the creatures and monstrosities that dwelt in that hellish realm constantly seek a way into the material world and this rift was no exception.

"Keep our guns fixed on that rift, number 2. And our auspexes too. Anything comes out and we'll blast it back to whence it came."

"Yes, captain. The Emperor protects," intoned the ship's executive officer.

"The Emperor protects," returned the captain.

* * *

**Chapter 9! Hello everyone. im back. i apologise for the very long absence. but im back now. thank you all who kept reading my stories and continuing your reviews. know that they have not gone unheeded. this chapter is longer than what i usually write but i know ya'll would want more than that. ill try to keep updates regular. **

**please read and review. ur comments keep writers endeavouring to give their best. we appreciate all of them.**

**once again thank you for reading and i apologise again for the very long wait. i hope you enjoy this update:)**

**-spartan 585**


	10. Chapter 10a Mealtime Teases

**After numerous threats of bodily harm and anyway i miss u guys, ive posted this teaser chapter to appease u readers. pls understand dat i have many commitments and dat i am not a very good writer. But i try to produce works dat are worthy (I hope) of ur perusal. the real chapter will be posted in 2 weeks time wen im finally not so busy. Until den thank you for ur devotion and encouragements, even the threats:) **

* * *

"C'mon you could at least try it," teased Lou as he dangled the packet of dehydrated MRE in Luthien's direction. "Look, I'll even warm it up a bit so it'll taste even better!" added the young man as he put on a great show to prove his point.

"Mmm...this is some good stuff!"

The eldar maiden merely glared at him as she chewed on a cherry-like berry from her small bag and trying to feed an awakened Melda at the same time. The gyrinx for once was being quite restless as she declined her meal, whining and mewing.

"See? She doesn't want those puny berries. She wants real food," proclaimed Lou proudly.

"I can hardly call that synthesized food 'real', mon-keigh," scowled Luthien. Nonetheless, a ghost of a smilie did appear on her face for a moment.

Lou was quick to notice it however, and his grin got wider as he came up with a plan.

"Tell you what; we'll play a game."

"What?"

"A game; it's something we 'mon-kay' do for…"

"I know what a game means, mon-keigh," interrupted an annoyed Luthien, "I'm just wondering why in Isha's name should I indulge your immature endeavour."

"Because it'll be fun," replied Lou with a smile. "Besides, it's not like you have anything to do right now…"

"I have plenty to do; I need to return back to my village with Melda and warn them of this Chaos incursion."

"Okay so you have plenty to do...but all that needs energy to get it done properly. You've eaten..sort of but Melda hasn't and it looks like she's being quite picky this morning; tell you what, you put your bag of berries on the ground and I'll put my MRE beside it, we'll see which one she chooses, what do you say?"

"No."

"Aww…c'mon. look at the poor thing," said Lou motioning to the gyrinx which was looking back and forth between the two with twinkling eyes. "It's not eating."

Luthien glared at Lou and spoke with an air of finality.

"Melda has and will always eat our Eldar food over your 'fake' food. Our cuisine thrives on simplicity and nutrition palatable to suit her taste-buds unlike your…-Melda! How could you?"

While she had been busy retorting to Lou, Melda had taken the chance to wriggle a bit closer to snatch the MRE packet from Lou's hand with her teeth. Her mistress could only look on in shock as Melda looked towards her with pleading eyes, the packet of food still in her mouth. Luthien sighed before glaring murderously at a positively smug-looking Lou.

"Not. A. Word."

Lou merely gestured by zipping his mouth. The smile threatening to burst out into a fully-fledged grin.

* * *

**Fin.**


End file.
